2 Nottingham Forest dilemmas facing Steve Cooper ahead of Peterborough clash

Nottingham Forest will look to cement their position in the Championship play-off places on Saturday afternoon, when they travel to London Road to face Peterborough United.

Forest go into the game on the back of an excellent run of form, having lost just once in their last 12 league games.

That run means that Steve Cooper’s side go into this one fifth in the second-tier standings, with the knowledge that victory here could all but guarantee their place in the top six – and with it a shot at promotion – for this season.

By contrast, Peterborough go into the game 22nd in the Championship table, seven points from safety, and know that even a win may not be enough to prevent their relegation back to League One, depending on Reading’s result away at Hull City.

But despite that, there are still issues that Forest will have to negotiate through this one, and here, we’ve taken a look at two dilemmas facing Cooper ahead of that game.

How to manage a busy schedule

While Forest’s FA Cup run earlier in the season gave them some memorable moments and spectacular scalps, it has now given them plenty of work to do.

With league games having had to be rearranged due to those cup commitments – and others issues – Forest now have five league games still to play, in the just 14 games between now and the end of the campaign.

Following that is a short turnaround to the play-offs, and those demands through such high intensity games means Cooper may have to juggle his squad here, to ensure he does not wear anyone out, without taking too many risks that may threaten to cost them a top six spot.

Peterborough’s fighting spirit

Despite the desperate position that Peterborough find themselves in at the bottom of the Championship table, it seems they